Who Wants to Be a Billionaire? New York Regions Compete for Big Bucks

Gov. Andrew Cuomo created 10 regional councils in New York State to oversee major development projects in their region. The regions are now competing for $1 billion in state economic development funds. MetroFocus/Kevon Greene

The race is on for $1 billion in state funding and New York State’s 10 regions pitched everything from increasing scallop harvesting and building breweries to creating a centralized electronic system for storing medical records in their quest for the money.

Presentations for this radical experiment in allocating the New York State economic development funds began on Nov. 28 in Albany.

Historically, Albany has doled out billions of dollars worth of state economic development funds on a project-by-project basis, often with wasted investments and weak results in terms of actual job creation. As a result, Gov. Andrew Cuomo created 10 regional councils — each composed of local leaders in business, politics and planning — to plan and oversee the major development projects in their region. To make the new platform even more efficient, Cuomo added a competitive twist last July, called the Consolidated Funding Application.

The Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, N.Y., is a creator of both suds and jobs. The Mohawk Valley Regional Council included plans to expand the brewery's facilities as part of its Consolidated Funding Application. Flickr/Nedral

Under Cuomo’s guidelines, thousands of eligible applicants from across the state submitted project proposals to one of the 10 regional councils. The councils reviewed the submissions and then put their favorites into their region’s application for the funds. The regional councils’ final applications were completed and made available online on or before Nov. 14. On Nov. 28, council members began a three-day series of presentations in Albany, where they pitched their proposals to the public.

An independent board, appointed by Cuomo, will review the applications and then allocate $200 million to the regional councils of their choice; the chosen councils can then decide which projects they want to fund. The board will award an additional $800 million to specific projects. The funds will be allocated by the end of the year, and each regional council will be required to track and report the success of those funds over the next year.

Here are the highlights of what each of the 10 regional councils would do if they were awarded the funds:

Women shop for produce at Hunts Point market in the South Bronx. The New York City Regional Council proposed a massive redevelopment of the market in its application. Flickr/tvancourt

New York City

Redevelop Hunts Point market in the South Bronx, which provides produce for thousands of local groceries and markets.

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